Without limiting the scope of the invention, its background is described in conjunction with stressful electrical or electronic environments such as automobile electrical systems, as an example.
Heretofore, in this field, difficulties have been encountered in designing field effect transistors that were able to withstand the high current densities and high transient voltages (often as high as 60 volts) to which these transistors were sometimes subjected as coupled to automotive power systems or the like. These voltages are often high enough to cause gate oxide breakdown between the conductive gate and the epitaxial layer on the drain side of the field effect transistor.
Accordingly, improvements which overcome the problem of gate oxide breakdown due to high electric fields, is presently desirable.